Federal Role May Grow In Regulating College Tuition Increases

Federal postsecondary policy has focused on college student aid, but a new article by Michael Dannenberg in the American Prospect makes a good case for a more active federal role in controlling college tuition growth–see www.prospect.org for the September 2009 issue. Here are some interesting direct quotes form his article.

“Obama has proposed increasing Pell Grants significantly and throwing the banks completely out of the student-loan program.  Loans instead would be made directly by the government…Pell Grants and student loans address only one side of the college-affordability ledger.  The other is tuition, which is increasing at a rate that dramatically outpaces median family income.  Student-loan debt is chasing ever-rising tuition like a dog chasing its tail…That doesn’t mean regulating tuition.  Reform can be as simple as helping students make better decisions in choosing a college, incentivizing states to maintain their fiscal effort for higher education, and making the colleges that the plurality of students attend tuition-free for those willing to work.”